Luka Doncic watched on from the sidelines as the Oklahoma City Thunder swept his Los Angeles Lakers out of the playoffs with a 115-110 win in Game 4 at Crypto.com Arena on Monday. The Lakers didn’t have much of a chance of beating the Thunder here in the Western Conference Semifinals without Doncic, who missed the series with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain, and they now have big decisions to make in the offseason.
The Lakers have a host of players who will or are expected to hit free agency, notably LeBron James, Austin Reaves, Marcus Smart, Rui Hachimura, and Deandre Ayton. They’d want at least some of them back, and Doncic was asked postgame if he’ll be recruiting James, Reaves, Smart, and Ayton to re-sign with the team.
“We’ll see,” Doncic said, via Infanity TV. “Can’t tell you nothing.”
Doncic had recruited both Smart and Ayton last offseason. The guard proved to be a fabulous addition, while the big man was a bit hit or miss.
You’d imagine the Lakers would want to keep Smart, who averaged 9.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game in 2025-26. The 32-year-old has a $5.4 million player option for 2026-27, but with how well he played, he is likely going to opt out for a bigger payday.
The Lakers should look into giving Smart the kind of multi-year deal he’d want. A defensive-minded guard like him is exactly what you want next to Doncic. It was why the Slovenian recruited him last summer.
As for Ayton, well, he has an $8.1 million player option for 2026-27. With his inconsistency, the Lakers might well be hoping he doesn’t pick it up and chooses to part ways.
Ayton, who averaged 12.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.6 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game in 2025-26, had some impressive stretches for the Lakers, but some terrible ones too. He has shown once and for all that he just isn’t good enough to be the starting center for a championship team. So, Ayton shouldn’t be expecting a call from Doncic this time around.
Staying with players who have player options, Reaves has one at $14.9 million. He will be opting out and is eligible for a five-year, $241 million contract. Should the Lakers give Reaves, who averaged 23.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game in 2025-26, that deal? Well, there might be some hesitation now, with how badly he struggled in two of the four games against the Thunder.
Doncic would definitely want Reaves back, though. He has enjoyed playing with him, and these two have formed quite a special bond off the court, too.
It will be very interesting to see how the Lakers’ negotiations with Reaves pan out. Is it going to be smooth sailing as we expected a few months ago, or will things get a bit tense? Whatever the case, Reaves should ultimately be a Laker come the start of next season.
There is less certainty when it comes to James, who averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game in 2025-26. There has been a lot of talk about the Lakers not being all too keen on continuing this partnership.
If Doncic and Reaves want James back, though, the Lakers will look to bring him back. It’s unclear, however, whether the 41-year-old wants to remain with the team. He’ll assess all his options in the summer.
Doncic made it clear here that he enjoyed playing with both Reaves and James.
“I think we had a great team,” Doncic said. “We had great chemistry and obviously, playing with AR and Bron was unbelievable experience. They’re two great players, and it was really fun to share court with them.”
As for Doncic’s summer activities, he won’t be playing competitive basketball for once. The six-time All-Star has announced he won’t participate in the upcoming FIBA qualifiers for Slovenia due to the ongoing custody battle for his two daughters. Doncic split with his longtime fiancée, Anamaria Goltes, earlier this year and wants to spend as much time as possible with his daughters Gabriela and Olivia.
This also gives Doncic, who put up 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, 8.3 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game in 2025-26, a full break that you’d felt he has long needed. It should help the 27-year-old be at his absolute best for the Lakers in the 2026-27 season.
